


For the Love of a Daughter

by purplebass



Category: The Infernal Devices Series - Cassandra Clare, The Last Hours Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:14:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25634146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purplebass/pseuds/purplebass
Summary: The man smirked. “I’m pleased to meet you, Theresa Gray. Or should I say Herondale? Which one you prefer the most?”Tessa rolled her eyes. “I’d prefer you’d leave me alone.”Tessa meets her father Belial and he congratulates her for the birth of her third daughter.This one shot is set during TLH time and it takes place in CoI (ideally) and it’s also part of an idea/theory I have.
Relationships: Tessa Gray & Will Herondale, Tessa Gray/Will Herondale
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15
Collections: Wessa





	For the Love of a Daughter

“ _Theresa_.”

No one had called her with her full name in a while, except Will when he liked to tease her. She didn’t recognize the voice, but she could feel the coldness in it, and the detachment. And it wasn’t a chilly day. On the other hand, she had decided to take a walk close to the Institute because the weather was splendid.

She raised her head to see who had talked, only to be awestruck. It was a man she had never seen, a particularly young one. Had she not caught the color of his eyes; she wouldn’t have made the connection. “You are _him_.”

The man smirked. “I’m pleased to meet you, Theresa Gray. Or should I say Herondale? Which one you prefer the most?”

Tessa rolled her eyes. “I’d prefer you’d leave me alone.”

“And lose the chance of meeting you? I’m offended,” he tried to provoke her, but she tried not to let him get to her.

It was the first time in over forty years that Tessa was sharing the same space as her father, who also happened to be a prince of hell. If this was another person, perhaps she would be giddy to be an actual princess. But the prospect of being remotely related to this handsome man disgusted her.

“You can’t choose your family but you can choose your friends,” Belial commented, glancing at the child in the navy colored pram in front of her. “Interesting.”

She tightened her old on the pram and glared at him. “If you need to tell me something, you better do it now before I – “

“I just wanted to greet you, Theresa, that is all. No need to be aggressive. And I wanted to congratulate you on the baby. What’s her name? No, don’t tell me. I already know.”

She raised an eyebrow questioningly. She didn’t like speaking to this person. She didn’t need to know her father to find out that he wasn’t someone to trust. “I’d say it was my pleasure, but I’d be lying. I’d rather not meeting you again.”

“You’d be lying to yourself if you think this is the last you’ll see of me,” Belial said with hushed tones, and then he was gone.

***

She rushed back to Institute, as fast as the pram permitted her to. She didn’t want to startle her baby girl. She was still an infant, born a mere three months before, with jet black hair and grey eyes. She had been a surprise. Never did she expect to get pregnant again, not after James and Lucie. Her kids, who truly weren’t kids anymore. She and Will had agreed on having two children who were only one year apart, but of course they were ecstatic when Jem told Tessa she was pregnant. Will had been on cloud nine to become a father again, even if Tessa had seen the apprehension in his eyes. He was already distressed after the recent events; she’d hate to worry him for another person. But he had insisted that this was what life was made of. It was made of a lot of unexpected miracles. And he told her that he would love and protect this baby with his life, if it came to it.

_Oh, Will._

Whenever Tessa returned to the Institute, the first thing she did was greet her husband.

She watched him silently as he sat behind his desk, his head bent on a book and his hand scribbling some notes on the margins with a pencil. He had this habit: he liked to write notes next to a passage he liked or wanted to remember. That was something that amused her although she didn’t like to smear the pages with graphite like him. She usually read a book before he did, and she never got to see what he noted, although she was curious. What could he possibly write? She didn’t like to write comments on the pages of books. She preferred to discuss what she liked or disliked with him, face to face. He still hadn’t realized she was there on the threshold, but when he did, his whole face changed.

“If it isn’t two of my favorite people in the whole universe,” said Will, raising from the velvet chair behind the mahogany desk of his study. He crossed the room over to Tessa and the baby and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “How are my girls today?”

“Tired,” Tessa replied as Will smiled at the baby. “And Estella didn’t sleep at all, she kept fussing on the way back here.”

“You’re restless like your namesake, aren’t you, Ella?” he asked the baby, then he grabbed her from the pram to hold her in his arms. He kissed the top of the baby’s head. “You should sleep, though, or your mama and I won’t be able to function tomorrow.”

Tessa grinned as she watched him bond with Estella. It was James who had decided that name, along with Lucie. He had probably suggested it because of “ _Great Expectations_ ”, not realizing at first that it may remind his father of his dead sister. They discussed the topic of the name while they were in the drawing room. Tessa had just revealed her children that they would have a brother or a sister in the spring. Jamie had shot the name without thinking, and both his mother and his sister had stilled. Not that Will didn’t like to talk about Ella. To some extent, he still felt guilty for her death, but he had come to terms with it. Things couldn’t be changed, and he couldn’t take it back. Once James realized the name he had just proposed, he tried to apologize, but Will didn’t let him. “It’s perfect, Jamie. Thanks for the suggestion,” he had said, and everyone had smiled.

That night, however, Tessa wasn’t able to sleep. She tossed and turned in the bed and every once in a while, she woke up to check on baby Ella, but she saw that Will was already up trying to calm the crying baby. She teared up every time she witnessed these moments. She hadn’t asked him anything, he had always taken the initiative even with Lucie and James. She decided to get off the bed to take Ella, but when she did, she felt her legs giving in. She gripped the bed for support.

“I’m taking care of her, go back to sleep,” Will said, noticing her by the bed.

“No, I’m okay, I’m -“ she tried to stand up, but to no avail.

“Maybe you should sit down, Tess.” He suggested, then he placed the baby back in her small crib.

She nodded and tried to get back on the bed by using Will’s hand as leverage. When she tried to get her legs on the mattress, though, she had a spasm. She gripped her hold on his hand when she felt the impulse to throw up, but she didn’t.

“Are you okay? You don’t seem well,” Will asked, then he touched her forehead with his free hand. “You’re burning up. And you’re sweating. Let me help you change. I’ll grab a wet cloth.”

Tessa couldn’t do anything but nod, and then she fell into the arms of Morpheus.

She woke up at some point, because she heard a faint cry. It was probably baby Ella. She felt something cold on her head, at least she realized that. She could also tell how her nightgown smelled of fresh soap and not sweat. Somebody had probably changed her into clean night clothes. Maybe it had been Will – she recalled at least that he told her something like that before she lost consciousness. Maybe. Or maybe Lucie, or Bridget… she didn’t know.

She glanced in the direction of the crib and saw that somebody had picked the baby up.

“Will.”

He turned his head and winced. He had turned his head too abruptly, which made Tessa smile. He was worried. And most likely tired. She could see the dark circles under his eyes and his disheveled hair. His shirt was also partially open and she could see part of his upper chest.

“What time is it?” she asked, feeling her throat sore. How much time had passed since she had fallen asleep?

Will still cradled the baby when he reached her side of the bed and sat down. He checked her forehead and wrist but he didn’t reply yet. “It’s six in the morning, Tess. I was just giving Ella her milk.”

“You? But how, when…” she wanted to sit down so she could feed the baby herself.

“We gave her a raw milk formula for the moment,” he explained. “Since you are too exhausted and you have a fever. Jem suggested you don’t give your milk to Ella until you’ve recovered.”

“Ah,” she commented. Not that she was unhappy about that, after all, if Jem had said it was better to give her baby cow’s milk mixed with other things… “How much time have I been out?”

Will’s expression hardened when she asked that, but knowing him, he was aware that she would want to know. He took her hand in his while he adjusted Ella’s head on his shoulder, since it was almost time for her to burp. Tessa grinned at the gesture. Not that he hadn’t done it before, but it still warmed her heart so see him with their children.

“Two days and half,” he admitted, pulling Tessa from her reverie.

“Two?”

“Yes. You fainted the other night. I didn’t think it was serious because you were half asleep. I thought the mixture of fever and exhaustion made you lose consciousness, but then you wouldn’t wake the next morning, so I –“

“You called Jem.”

“Yes,” he revealed, making a slight grin. “I know how much you all hate that I call him all the time, since he could be in trouble for coming here when no one is sick, but you were… motionless. I checked your pulse and your chest and your heartbeat was weak. It wasn’t a simple cold, Tess.”

She could hear the way this whole thing had affected him from the sound of his voice. He was concerned and… scared?

“Then what was it?”

He sighed before answering her. “Jem think you were possessed. Because you threw up a lot of black blood. By vomiting blood you rejected the possession.” Saying those words seemed to pain him.

“What? And who could have possessed me?”

“You talked in your sleep,” Will revealed, gazing at baby Ella who had just digested her milk. “You mentioned a name.”

“Who?” Tessa asked, even if she already knew the answer to that. She didn’t know if she was more shocked by the fact that her father had tried to possess her or that she had vomited black blood.

“Belial.”

Tessa massaged her temples. The cool cloth fell on the side of her head, but to hell with that. She felt better at least. “I met him the other day.”

“You did?” he didn’t sound angry, but she could hear the hurt in his voice. “I mean, you didn’t have to tell me, Tessa, but I thought –“

She clutched his hand in her hands. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t think much of it. He just appeared out of nowhere while I was with Ella. And he introduced himself and congratulated me for the baby.”

“Just like the fairy in Sleeping Beauty.”

Tessa thought about it for a second. “Do you think he placed an enchantment on me?”

Will raised an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t put past him. Isn’t he powerful? And you’re his daughter, he could try to do something like this to you just because he’s bored,” he raged.

“What could he possibly do to me? We’ve never meet in over forty years, Will. He doesn’t care about me like I don’t care about him. I’m just one of his spawns.”

“You’re not a spawn. You’re not an animal, Tessa.”

“I’m not in the mood for semantics, Will,” she sighed.

Will’s voice softened and he caressed her hand with his thumb. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to make you angry, but I also don’t want to tell you lies. During these two days and half you’ve been out, I felt like a mad man because I didn’t know who could have done this to you. Now that we probably know the culprit, I just want to…” he gritted his teeth.

“No.” Tessa’s voice was sharp and authoritative. “Today was the first time in years I’ve ever seen what the person who gave me life looks like. I do not wish to see him ever again, and I’d rather you not go after him. Not you, not Jem, nor anyone.”

“Are you really sure, Tess? Because I…”

“ _Will_. Please. Listen to me. Leave him alone. I can’t guarantee that he won’t try to do something again,” she told him, “but it’s better not to provoke him. He’s a prince of hell, and he’s a –“

“Son of a –“ Will started, then glanced at baby Ella and shut up. “You understand what I meant, Tess.”

Tessa grinned. As usual, he managed to make her laugh even in the critical moments. “Yes. And now I would love to hold my baby, thank you.”

“You are not burning up anymore,” he affirmed after he checked her forehead again. “And whose baby are you talking about?” he asked her just to tease her.

Tessa frowned with a smirk, then extended her arms to get baby Ella. The baby was sleeping soundly and for a moment it made her believe that everything was fine. That no, her father hadn’t tried to possess her because he wanted to use her body for some seedy intentions. That he hadn’t put a spell on her and made her sick. She wanted to pretend everything was okay and that everyone was also doing great, even though she knew that something was surely coming down the pike. And soon, she was sure, she would have to face a harsher reality.


End file.
